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conference photography, Transparency Ireland, Paschal Donohoe TD

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Neuroscience Conference Dublin, conference photographer, Minister Mary Mitchell O'Connor

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Conference photograph of 2 men talking at the RHA Gallery Dublin

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Conference photographer, shot taken at Trinity College for the Neuroscience Conference

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Conference photograph of man sitting with integrity at work book

Conference Photography Dublin

Conference photography can be a real challenge for photographers. Much can be required of the photographer in a relatively short space of time. Conferences often take place over a lunch hour, before work starts in the morning, or after work. For this reason both the speakers and attendees can be short on time, and things must run smoothly and quickly.

Usually there will be a key speaker at the conference, such as a minister of state or company CEO. Many times these people will be very short on time due to other commitments. This is when you must act fast and capture the required shots. This of course must be done with you not getting in the way, or distracting any of the speakers.

No client will re hire a photographer that over shoots, or distracts the speakers. It’s important to shoot selectively, and get out of the ‘front lines’ so to speak, so as not to put the speakers off. You also have to watch your flash, as this can throw the speakers. If there is enough available light, I like to try to not use my flash. When I do need to use my flash, I will only shoot when it’s needed.

It’s important to get some shots of the attendees also. Often I will get some good shots when the audience is asking questions of the speakers. I also like to get nice candid shots of the audience either before the conference begins, or during a coffee break in the middle.

Wide shots of the room are also required when shooting conference photography, as well as any finer details you see. An example of this might be a logo, or pamphlet. Someone in the audience might be reading one of these, or even have it on their lap during a conference. This can be a perfect time to get a nice candid shot that also includes the conference logo.

You can see some examples above that I shot at Trinity College featuring TD Mary Mitchell O’Connor, and at The RHA Gallery Dublin featuring TD Paschal Donohoe.

Should you wish to contact me regarding your upcoming conference, please use the form below:

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Irish set still of Can't Cope Won't Cope including actors Amy Huberman and Seána Kerslake

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Nika McGuigan and Seána Kerslake of Can't Cope, Won't Cope, bathroom, fixing makeup

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Set stills of Amy Huberman and Seána Kerslake on the set of Can't Cope Won't Cope RTE comedy drama.

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Nika McGuigan and Seána Kerslake of Can't Cope, Won't Cope, singing along to Boyzone

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Nika McGuigan and Seána Kerslake publicity stills ireland

Set Stills Ireland, ‘Can’t Cope, Won’t Cope’

I recently photographed set stills on the new RTE comedy drama entitled, ‘Can’t Cope, Won’t Cope’, written by Stefanie Preissner and produced by Deadpan Pictures. The first 2 episodes were aired on the 19th September, and will run for 4 more episodes to conclude the first series.

It follows 2 girls from Cork in their 20’s, living in Dublin. When their partying lifestyle gets out of control, this begins to impact on their friendship, bringing some dark realities to light.

There was a huge amount for the cast and crew to film in a very short space of time. For this reason I had to work as quickly and efficiently as possible while shooting the set stills, so as not to take up the time of the actors and crew.

Often we were shooting in tight cramped spaces such as a bedroom, bathroom or sitting room in a small house. For this reason there wasn’t always room for me to shoot beside the DOP, boom operator, assistant director etc. Apart from the risk of falling on top of one another, great care is taken when mirrors and other reflective objects are in the room, as the viewer might get a glimpse of the crew! As well as reflections, we also had to be careful of shadows, so often only the people that had to be up at the camera were there. For this reason I had to plan out my photographs in advance.

Something I like to do is to watch a scene on one of the monitors as it’s being filmed, and look for expressions or gestures that the actors might make that will make a good set still. I then note the lines they say at these moments. That way they don’t need to repeat the whole scene for me when I’m taking the stills, but only the lines I have noted. I can also get them to repeat these parts of the scene for me a couple of times.

Other times I can jump in between takes when actors are still in the moment, and either practising the scene between themselves, or in position to shoot with their minds set on the characters.

I have a selection of my favourite set stills above. The 2 main actors are Seána Kerslake and Nika McGuigan, but the series also features well known actor and comedian and actor Amy Huberman. As rushed as things were on set, I really had a great time, and I think that the cast and crew produced something unique that they can all be proud of.

Please feel free to contact me using the form below if you have any questions: